hackajob is partnering directly with AND Digital to hire for this role.We are recruiting for a Contract Senior Microsoft Foundry AI Architect for a contract to start ASAP.Who We Are:AND Digital are a tech company focused on accelerating digital delivery and dedicated to closing the digital skills gap. We've been helping organisations build better digital products and stronger digital teams since 2014.We believe our work should always make a remarkable impact for our clients. We do this through our regional offices (or 'Clubs') building strong relationships with our partners, so that they are always prioritised by a team within close proximity.This unique model has driven success for our clients and ourselves, evidenced by our remarkable organic growth since 2014. Today we number more than 1,300 people with Clubs all over the UK, Europe and the USA with plans for global expansion in the next couple of years.Join us - and help us fulfil our mission to close the world's digital skills gap.Role OverviewWe're looking for an experienced AI Engineer to join a team working with Microsoft Foundry, Microsoft's rapidly evolving AI platform.This role is focused on the hands-on development of AI agents, integrations and solutions within Microsoft Foundry, working with Azure AI services and emerging generative AI technologies.You'll be involved in building practical, production-ready AI solutions and integrating them into wider applications and technology ecosystems.What You'll Be Doing Design and build out Microsoft Foundry platforms with best practices particularly around securityBuild and configure AI agents using Microsoft Foundry.Work with Azure AI services and generative AI technologies to deliver business solutions.Develop and test LLM-powered applications and agentic workflows.Integrate AI capabilities into existing technology platforms and applications.Work with APIs, SDKs and cloud services to create robust AI integrations.Apply software engineering best practices to AI solutions, including testing, version control and CI/CD.Troubleshoot and optimise AI applications for performance, reliability and scalability.Work alongside senior engineers and architects to implement agreed technical patterns and standards.Keep up to date with new Microsoft Foundry capabilities and emerging AI technologies.What We're Looking For Essential Architecture design experience and being able to articulate decisionsStrong software engineering experience, ideally within Microsoft Azure.Hands-on experience with Microsoft Foundry / Azure OpenAI / CoPilot Studio, or demonstrable experience with closely related Azure AI technologies.Experience working with generative AI, LLMs or AI agents.Experience developing integrations using APIs and SDKs.Background in programming experience in languages such as Python, C#, JavaScript or TypeScript.Understanding of cloud-based application development and modern engineering practices.Ability to work in a fast-moving environment where technologies and best practices are continually evolving.Desirable Experience with other AI platforms (Bedrock)IaC (Terraform/Bicep) for building AI platformsExperience building AI agents or agentic workflows.Knowledge of RAG, embeddings and vector databases/search.Experience with Azure AI Search.Familiarity with prompt engineering and evaluation of LLM applications.Experience with Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.Equal Opportunities StatementWe are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We actively encourage applications from women, ethnic minorities, and individuals with disabilities. We consider all flexible working arrangements, subject to the requirements of the role. Where reasonable adjustments are needed, we will strive to make changes to accommodate them.AI StatementWe champion tech that helps people work smarter, but we want to get to know you! If you use AI to assist with your application or interview prep, please ensure all information submitted remains an accurate, truthful representation of your personal achievements and capabilities rather than generating false or misleading information. We may reject applications where AI is used inappropriately at any stage of the recruitment process.TPBN1_UKTJ